Posts Tagged ‘leaders’

I hope you’re great. Four things I wanted to share with you to help you do fantastic work and create your best life during these volatile times:

#1. Below you will find an idea-rich article called, “The Best Advice I Ever Got” that summarizes the powerful insights that exceptional business leaders use to win.

The Best Advice I Ever Got

All it takes is a single idea to change the game. One insight, shared in one quick conversation, can transform the way you think, work and live. One piece of wisdom from an epic performer – or a thoughtful producer – can dramatically alter the path of your career and your personal life. And, as with all big ideas, the simpler the better (simplicity is the trademark of Genius).

When I was about 21 years old, I was blessed to have a brilliant bond trader as a best friend. He was older than me, more instinctual and had developed the acute courage to live his life on his own terms (versus following the crowd). A true original, in my eyes. And a man who influenced my perspective deeply. We used to take long walks along the ocean and talk about business, creativity and getting big things done. One morning, he said something that still speaks to me this day: “Robin, you have to run your own race.” To me, that advice meant a few things, trust my own instincts, live by my own values, do my own dreams (and quickly dismissing the chattering opinions of the critics around us). Too easy to buy into society’s definition of success and miss out on our own. So easy to get distracted by what other people are doing and get off the clear vision we’ve set for ourselves. And I have to admit that I’d rather fail at my own “race” than win at someone else’s.

To keep you encouraged, focused and at peak inspiration as you pursue what’s most important to you, I’ve set out some of the best “advice I’ve learned” from some of the best businesspeople on the planet. Here you go:

Elon Musk, the visionary founder of Tesla – the electric supercar manufacturer – told FORTUNE magazine that the single best piece of advice he ever received came from the book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy. “Don’t panic” were the words that jumped out at him, and that have guided his world-class career as an entrepreneur. He shared that emotion causes imperfect decision making since we don’t see the facts clearly. As for bad advice he said: “My parents advised me to ignore bullies. That doesn’t work. You have to punch them in the nose.”

Leonard Lauder, Chairman of The Estee Lauder Companies learned an outstanding piece of advice from his mother that guided his career, “If you have something positive to say to someone, put it into writing. But if you have something bad to say, tell it to them to their face.” An example comes from his experience as chairman of The Whitney Museum in New York. He was upset with one of the trustees and wrote a letter that he left on his desk. An assistant found the letter and mailed it, causing the trustee to resign in disgust. Lauder says he still regrets writing that letter to this day.

Terry Lundgren, CEO, Macy’s: “You’re not going to do this forever. There’s a finite amount of time you’re going to be doing this. Do this really, really well.” (from an interview in The New York Times).

Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos.com: “Hire more slowly and fire those who are harming the culture more quickly. Our #1 priority is company culture. Our belief is that if you get the culture right, then most of the other stuff like building a great brand and great customer service will happen naturally.”

Warren Buffett, the iconic investor, was profoundly influenced by his father Howard, a stockbroker. One of the maxims his dad would recite regularly came from the philosopher Emerson: “The great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” This drilled into Buffett’s thinking the importance of thinking for yourself and contrarian investing.

“When you’re the first person whose beliefs are different from what everyone else believes, you’re basically saying, “I’m right, and everyone else is wrong.” That’s a very unpleasant position to be in. It’s at once exhilarating and at the same time an invitation to be attacked.” Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle (by the way, big thanks to the team at The Oracle CIO Summit in Dallas for your invitation to present the Lead Without a Title message to your much-valued leaders).

“Twenty five years ago I wish someone had told me about the exponential factor of time: that every year over forty years of age goes twice as fast and every year over fifty goes ten times as fast.” Harold Evans, former publisher, Random House (from If I Knew Then What I Know Now by Richard Edler)

A few final – and random – pieces of advice people have shared with me along the way that have formed my thinking:

Genius has little to do with luck and everything to do with practice.

Health is the crown on the well person’s head that only the ill person can see.

#4. The specially priced early-bird seats for The Remarkable Entrepreneur SuperConference 2012 are completely sold out but you can still get a seat at $2000 off the regular price for a limited time. If you’re ready to double the sales of your business within 24 months while taking more time off to enjoy life, you can’t afford not to join me June 2 and 3 in Toronto, Canada for these 2 life-changing days where I share my most advanced business-building strategies.

Gratitude. That’s how I feel about your support of my work this past year. My team and I have pulled out my 10 most popular blog posts from the past twelve months and I’ve listed them below.

Read them. Reflect on them. Debate them. Enjoy them!

Top 10 Blog Posts of 2011

1) The 50 New Rules of Work (17.9K Shares)The global economy is in a state of acute disruption. Competition has never been more fierce. Consumers have never been so well-informed and loudly demanding. And what worked yesterday just might be obsolete today. But this time is also a great time, for the astonishing few who are ready to show leadership. Leaders are at their absolute best during messy cycles versus during the easy ones. And messy cycles bring with them gorgeous opportunities. Click here to read more…

2) You Can’t Lead In Fear (7465 Shares)
Fear ruins more bright lives than you might imagine. Each of us, by virtue of our very human nature, has the potential to Lead Without A Title and achieve great things that elevate everyone around us by our model of possibility. But the chattering voice of fear in our heads stops us from playing big. Click here to read more…

3) My 3 Best Keys To Super Productivity (7382 Shares)We live in an age of dramatic distraction. On an average day we spend up to 2.1 hours in distraction. To waste your time is to waste your life, talent and creativity. So in this video I share with you my 3 best keys to super productivity to help you play at your absolute best. Click here to watch the video…

4) The Saboteur: The Real Reason You Procrastinate (6135 Shares)
In this video I share with you an insight that will help you shatter your past performance. You’ll be able to strip-away from your life all the distractions and become one of the few productive people that gets great work done. Click here to watch the video…

5) Random Insights On Exceptionalism (5915 Shares)
I’m at 40,000 feet. Sunlight floods through the window. Flying home from beautiful Vancouver, Canada after a presentation to The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) on game-changing moves that Remarkable Entrepreneurs are dedicated to. I do my best thinking on airplanes and wanted to download some random insights on leadership, business and living at world-class with you. Click here to read more…

6) 17 Tips to Double Your Productivity In 14 Days (5708 Shares)
One of the modules from “The Remarkable Entrepreneur SuperConference” that happens in June is on “Doubling Your Productivity in 30 Days”, based on my work with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in business. I wanted to share 17 of the tactics I’ve learned that I know will help you lean into your productive best in this age of dramatic distraction. Click here to read more…

7) The 8 Faces of Exceptionally Creative Leaders (5170 Shares)
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you know that my core belief is that the old model of leadership is dead and now, anyone in any organization on any part of the planet can show leadership. I’ve seen taxi drivers who display rare-air leadership along with school teachers + breakfast servers + construction workers. Work is changing. And we all can provoke impact and influence if we Lead Without a Title. But here’s the point of this piece: not only do each of us have the potential to be leaders – we each have the potential to be creative. Massively. Click here to read more…

8) 15 Ways To Do Your Best Work (4582 Shares)
Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job. Don’t do your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers. In this article I share with you 15 game-changing ideas to doing your best work and playing at your absolute best. Click here to read more…

9) 5 One Minute Productivity Moves (4171 Shares)
In an effort to help you win the war against distraction and interruption I’ll give you “5 One Minute Productivity Tactics” to help you amp up your game and do your best work. 1. Have the courage to get great at saying “No Thanks” to any activities that don’t advance your priorities. Click here to read more…

10) Do What’s Most Difficult (4031 Shares)Sam Keen had a great line, “You are caught by what you are running from.” Genius. We attempt to structure our lives to avoid our fears but that’s about as intelligent as straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic. The best way to overcome a fear is to face your fear. As a matter of fact, every time we do something we’ve been avoiding, we take back the power that seemingly scary or difficult thing had over us. Click here to read the rest…

Every good wish to you and your family for the holiday season – from me and my family.

OK. We’re in some challenging times. Economies are shifting. Businesses are reconfiguring. And deep uncertainty dominates many peoples’ mindsets.

But smart leaders get that crisis breeds opportunity. And so they train their brains to focus on nothing else.

Here are 5 of the NBO’s (Nice Big Opportunities) I’ve been sharing with my clients:

1. It Has Never Been Easier To Stand Out
Everyone is negative. Customer service is being pulled back. Innovation is shutting down. So, great rewards will come to you as you stay positive, client-centered and wildly creative.

2. It Has Never Been So Easy To Retain and Secure Superb TalentA great team of spirited people can achieve extraordinary results. Now is a fine time to build that team.

3. This Down Cycle Is An Excellent Time To Open Up New MarketsNot every region is in a recession so now might be the perfect time to expand into an emerging economy.

4. With All the Turmoil, This Is An Opportunity to Get Back to the FundamentalsCreate strong value for your stakeholders. Build a business based on integrity. Renew deep family relationships. Savor life’s simpler pleasures.

5. This Is A Fantastic Time Invest In Your Learning
Learning boosts passion and engagement. In the up-cycle, you may have been running so fast you made zero time to invest in yourself. Yet, to be a better leader become a bigger person.

Fear ruins more bright lives than you might imagine. Each of us, by virtue of our very human nature, has the potential to Lead Without Title and achieve great things that elevate everyone around us by our model of possibility. But the chattering voice of fear in our heads stops us from playing big.

A little while back I had the chance to spend 3 weeks in New Zealand. And just before I returned home, I had the opportunity to go heli-skiing. Yes, this is where a helicopter drops you off at the top of a mountain, and you ski down.

The experience was challenging, exhilarating and full of rich lessons for growth. Here are some of them, that we can apply to business and life:

1. You Don’t Grow In Normal
All I mean by this is that if you stay within your comfort zone, you don’t grow. But if you instead stretch and face fear head on by going to your limits, you’ll discover your limits will grow.

2. You Don’t Know Until You TryIt would have been easy to refuse the chance to heli-ski. I could have made a thousand excuses. But Leaders Without a Title recognize good opportunities. So I seized it. And because I tried heli-skiing, I not only grew as a skier, I added another experience to my life that will shape all I do.

3. On the Other Side of Your Fears You’ll Find Your Confidence
By doing what we’re afraid to do because it’s beyond our comfort zone, we grow in confidence. The increased confidence I have as a skier because I skied a new peak will translate to increased confidence as an entrepreneur and as a human being.

4. Life’s Short So Get In The Game
A rich life is one made up of many rich adventures. Don’t miss out on enjoying as many as you can.

All too often, we wait until ideal conditions appear before we show up at our best. We promise to display more initiative once we get the promotion, become a superb teammate once we get the raise and do world-class work once we receive the applause. But true leadership is about doing your absolute best under imperfect conditions. And leading where you are planted. An example.

On my last speaking tour, the final event was in Johannesburg. Post-workshop, our CEO and myself went out for a meal in Nelson Mandela Square. The sun was shining, the food was pretty good, the service was fine. But it was the awesome display of one distinct Leader Without a Title that still resonates in my mind. And that I need to tell you about.

As I walked into the washroom, I was greeted by a young man with a 1000 watt smile. His job was clearly to keep the place clean. Some would call him a janitor. But to me, he viewed himself as an inventor… innovating and iterating within his sphere of responsibility.

“Welcome to my office,” he spoke, with a sparkle in his eyes. “It’s nice to have you visit.” His uniform was impeccable. His counters were immaculate. And his manners, superb. He could have made excuses to deny his enthusiasm. Could have complained about the base position, the lack of authority, the limited power. But he didn’t.

Instead, he assumed his power-to influence all those he met, to impact others by his excellent example, and to inspire all by transcending his conditions. This young man did his work like Rembrandt painted, Beckham bends the ball, like Colombus explored.

My true point? No job is just a job, unless it’s viewed as just a job. All work is a platform to express creative potential, offer value and make a unique contribution. But we each face a choice each day as we walk out into the world: we can play a victim or we can step up to leadership. And in this messy, disrupted world we now work within, leadership at every level has become the single best way to win.